That ray of luminous qi tore through the atmosphere, spiraling upward. Its speed was not particularly fast, nor did it fall for some time, yet it faintly anchored Chen Chuan's position.
Chen Chuan saw clearly that it was a flying blade resembling the bayonet in Xiang Boqing's hand, only slightly shorter.
The object spun continuously inside and outside his field; the dense field failed to obstruct it in the slightest, easily torn open by it.
He could faintly sense hints of spiritual impact upon it. It had clearly employed some special technique, very likely possessing the power to pierce through spiritual fire.
At this moment, he was in the midst of pursuing his opponent and maintaining his offensive rhythm. One could easily imagine that the instant he launched an attack, this thing would definitely strike or harass him. If he were forced to pull back and parry, it would not merely break his offensive momentum; his opponent would very likely turn the tables, plunging him onto the defensive.
This opponent was indeed exceedingly experienced. Without resorting to any grand methods, he could escape his predicament and turn the tables with just a single flying blade. He had presumably planned this long before the clash began.
Yet Chen Chuan was not entirely without countermeasures.
With a thought, a dazzling radiance erupted from his body, accompanied by an invisible force radiating outward. The flying blade was caught within this force, its speeding pace slowing down instantly.
At the same time, without breaking his stride, he swung his saber down toward Xiang Boqing. The latter seemed prepared; a sharp gleam flickered between his brows—a clear sign of intensified mental power, possibly even an esoteric technique.
The flying blade had slowed, yet now, pulled along by this surge of power, it suddenly accelerated and shot straight for Chen Chuan.
This strike was acutely targeted, clearly a countermeasure Xiang Boqing had devised after gathering intelligence on Chen Chuan's methods beforehand.
Seeing this, Chen Chuan's eyes flickered. He abandoned the attack and swept his saber back to block. As the flying blade struck the blade's surface, spiritual fire burst violently apart, erupting with a force akin to a spiritual impact. Although he knocked the projectile aside, his movement was palpably hindered.
Yet while defending, he did not surrender the initiative. Right as his saber swung, a flash of light gleamed beside him, and the conical object shot toward Xiang Boqing under the guidance of his will.
Gripping his bayonet with one hand, Xiang Boqing casually batted it away with a flick of his arm.
This object actually posed little threat to him; taking a hit directly would likely be no big deal and would allow him to seize the initiative. However, he was an obsessive man who pursued absolute perfection in battle. He could not tolerate a single blemish on a sheet of pure white paper, so he refused to let himself suffer an unnecessary hit, which would leave him utterly disgusted.
Yet this slight hesitation prevented him from coordinating with the flying blade to pin Chen Chuan down.
Even so, his objective had been achieved: Chen Chuan's original offensive rhythm was disrupted. Xiang Boqing vaulted upward, thrusting his bayonet straight toward Chen Chuan's face!
Having just deflected the flying blade, Chen Chuan saw him lunging in. Flipping his elbow outward, he parried the incoming bayonet with his saber while simultaneously thrusting forward. As he pushed forward, the spiritual flames of both sides scraped and scattered in all directions, arriving before his opponent's face in an instant.
It was an exquisitely executed high-line counterthrust.
The technique itself was secondary; what mattered most was that the timing and force were calibrated to perfection, as though the opponent had delivered himself onto the blade.
Seeing the tip of the blade pressing close to his brow in a flash, Xiang Boqing narrowed his eyes. He surmised that this was likely the work of data gathered by the other's external implant.
Chen Chuan's strike had indeed drawn upon data provided by Hongfu. In truth, when facing a pure martial artist, the situation became exceptionally intricate. It was incomparable to the highly regimented patterns of an active conscious entity; moves could not simply be analyzed or predicted by rote formula.
Yet he was able to form his own understanding based on that data, executing the most appropriate response for the moment. This fusion of combat instinct and data could not be achieved flawlessly every time; it relied upon intuitive leaps of inspiration.
Yet even if such a masterstroke appeared only once, it could overturn the entire situation in an instant, even deciding the outcome of the battle.
Xiang Boqing leaned back under the pressure. Yet during his retreat, he released his grip with one hand while the other slid down the shaft to the butt end, seizing it firmly. With a snap of his wrist, whoosh, the bayonet flexed into a supple curve, and the tip, flickering with spiritual fire, whipped toward Chen Chuan's neck.
Chen Chuan knew that if he held his course, both would very likely hit each other. But he would definitely strike first. Thus, without altering his trajectory, his blade tip slammed squarely into Xiang Boqing's face with a boom.
And almost at the exact moment he struck home, his neck was pierced by the bayonet.
In the next instant, the spiritual fire concentrated on their face and neck shattered simultaneously, looking as though several bolts of platinum and blue-white lightning had ripped through the sky.
Amidst the flickering brilliance, both leapt backward. Separated by a certain distance, they eyed each other amid continuous rumbling booms.
In this exchange of blows, neither had broken through the other's defenses, for both had preemptively adjusted, concentrating the spiritual fire distributed across their bodies at the points of impact.
This was clearly yet another contest of finesse. Had either fallen short in technique or lagged even slightly, severe injury would have been inevitable.
Chen Chuan flicked his long saber. The conical object flew back from the perimeter, buzzing as it circled his body. He then brought the blade in front of him, resting his other hand on the hilt.
Xiang Boqing held his bayonet in one hand and raised it diagonally upward. The flying blade wheeled back, circling the spike. With a whip of the weapon's shaft, he hurled the flying blade toward Chen Chuan. At the same time, the spiritual light and flame on his body erupted, transforming him into a streak of flowing light as the tip leveled straight ahead, stabbing directly toward Chen Chuan's position.
Chen Chuan also erupted with a burst of radiance. Whirling to meet the assault with a slash, he knocked aside the flying blade, only to collide with the bayonet that had just flicked away his conical projectile. Spiritual fire spilled out instantly, sending violent tremors through the surrounding air.
At that moment, two sharp gleams circled across the sky, closing in on their backs and flanks respectively. Sensing them, the two pushed off with bayonet and saber; with a clash and a deflect, they parted.
After deflecting the projectiles targeting them midair, both wheeled around in the sky, carving two luminous trails that tore through the atmosphere, and charged at each other once more.
In the blink of an eye, they collided, unleashing a blinding brilliance that lit up the heavens. The shockwave forced both backward, but no sooner had distance opened between them than they lunged forward again, clashing anew.
Over the next several minutes, such collisions repeated ceaselessly, keeping the muffled roars in the sky from ever falling silent.
Because they were not standing on flat ground, with ample room above, below, left, and right to maneuver and pivot, heaven and earth seemed to whirl around them.
As they fought, the flying blade and the conical projectile danced back and forth, probing for any openings in their maneuvers, which added even greater complexity to the fray.
Most of their clashes took place close to the ground. Wherever they swept past, exploding spiritual fire leveled nearly everything in sight, followed by a succession of concussive blasts.
As the two darted to and fro, smoke, debris, and dust were swept up along with them, tracing spiral vortexes across the island that left the distant onlookers utterly awestruck.
Yet in this running exchange of chase and clash, Chen Chuan seemed unable to secure a dominant position, and the tempo was even dictated to some degree by Xiang Boqing.
This had little to do with combat prowess; rather, the flying blade Xiang Boqing possessed was likewise a top-grade mutated weapon. While Chen Chuan's flying cone was of decent quality, it fell slightly short when compared to the flying blade. In a duel between combatants of the same tier, even the slightest disparity could tilt the situation unfavorably.
Chen Chuan understood this well. Battle was simply like that, especially against a powerful foe; it was not merely a contest of individual prowess, but a multidimensional confrontation involving their respective weapons and gear.
Yet he did not care much about this. Even if his opponent held a slight upper hand for now, it was not enough to overwhelm him. The dormant power within his body was awakening; if the fight dragged on, he might well turn the tables.
Furthermore, beyond his own combat awareness, he had the assistance of Hongfu and his external implant. As their exchanges accumulated, his techniques in responding to the opponent's attacks grew ever more polished and attuned.
At the same time, he had devised some new techniques. While using the Two Great Stances to slow the opposing flying blade, he also applied them to propel the pointed cone. As a result, the projectile accelerated and decelerated abruptly, its movements erratic and unpredictable, which began to cause Xiang Boqing a fair share of trouble.
Seeing that he still could not secure a decisive advantage and that Chen Chuan was beginning to catch up and adapt, Xiang Boqing shifted his strategy once more.
A cold gleam flickered in his eyes. He immediately activated a second-class relic issued to him by Origin Corporation, which could conceal his traces within one or two breaths. As the blue-white spiritual fire on his body snapped inward, his entire form abruptly vanished from the atmosphere.
Chen Chuan was pressing his attack forward; when he slashed, he found the figure before him had vanished in an instant. A mere fraction of a second later, the man materialized at his flank, thrusting straight at him once again. Chen Chuan blocked in the nick of time; amid scattering bursts of flame, his body shuddered faintly.
And Xiang Boqing's figure disappeared once more.
Chen Chuan's gaze tightened. Whether the opponent was using an esoteric technique or a relic, fighting like this clearly left him at a disadvantage. He could not allow the man free rein to execute his methods; he had to find a solution.
Focusing his senses, he recalled that from the moment he set foot on the island, his mental perception had caught faint, peculiar fluctuations—meaning that a fissure existed on this island.
With that, he closed his eyes. In the next instant, he vanished from where he stood. Xiang Boqing's thrust landed on empty air, jolting him with shock. Just then, he looked up and saw, high in the heavens where the blazing sun hung overhead, a silhouette framed against the great orb, slashing down toward him!
Crossing the void and leaping the fissure—Flying Dragon Jin!
Chapter 1253